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Texas Governor Vetos Governance Reform Bill

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Texas Governor Rick Perry vetoed Friday a bill that would have required appointees to the state's higher education governing boards to attend "a training program that provides instruction in ethics, conflict-of-interest law, and the role of a governing board in a higher education institution or system and that is conducted by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, by the system office of a university system, or by the office of a governing board that does not govern a university system" before they voted on personnel or governance matters. The current law does not require any kind of formal training. The bill would have also prevented the governor from making interim appointments to the board while the legislature was out of session.

The UT system's board has become the epicenter of a perceived conflict about the shape and direction of higher education in the state, particularly the University of Texas at Austin. Multiple reports over the past few years have suggested that the governor is pushing the regents to remove UT-Austin President William Powers, who has criticized some of the governor's views on higher education. In February the governor appointed three regents to fill vacancies. The Senate confirmed those appointees in May. (This story has been updated to correct the bill's requirements and the status of the appointees.)